Dem Rep. Gordon (TN) Switches From 'No' To 'Yes' On Health Care

[ProSense]

Dem Rep. Gordon Switches From 'No' To 'Yes' On Health Care

Ben Frumin

It's official: Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN) is switching his health care vote from "no" to "yes."

That's a big pickup for Democrats -- Gordon is just the second Democrat who voted "no" on the House health care bill in November to say he'll vote "yes" on the Senate bill now. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) was the first switcher.

Gordon was a key target for Democratic leadership after announcing his retirement last fall. And Democrats still don't seem to have secured the 216 votes they need to pass health care reform -- so every pickup counts.


Here's Gordon's statement:

The health care bill being considered by Congress now accomplishes three things: one, it reduces health care costs for families and small businesses; two, it improves access to affordable care, regardless of pre-existing conditions; three, it lowers our budget deficit. That's why I am supporting it.

Over the past year, I have been contacted by thousands of Middle Tennesseans with opinions on health care. Because this issue is so important, I have heard from passionate voices on all sides through face-to-face meetings, call-ins, surveys, town halls, calls and letters.

<...>

We can attack waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare. We can hold insurance companies accountable and prevent companies from hiking premiums arbitrarily and dropping patients when they get sick. These are the measures I believe are essential to sensible reform, and these are the measures the new bill includes.

In November, I said I hoped the Senate and House could work out the difference and produce a bill I could support - one that takes responsible steps to make health care more affordable for our economy and for our families and small businesses. If I and each of my 534 colleagues in Congress had been able to write our own health reform packages, we would be looking at 535 different bills today. In the end, the question I'm faced with is this: will this reform be better for Middle Tennessee than the status quo? I think it will. That's why I believe passing meaningful health care reform is essential and why I have made my decision to help ensure health care is affordable for Middle Tennesseans today and for generations to come.

[Tanuki]

1. Please take a moment to send him an e-mail or note of appreciation.

You can't imagine the hateful pressure he has received from the teabaggers on this. Even if he isn't running for re-election, he still will be living in the district, and the hostility from some quarters is downright scary.

[tallahasseedem]

2. And it just keeps coming...

Yay!!!